Skyway Jack and the Manatee

Me at Skyway Jack's
Originally uploaded by Bigrextinct.

Okay, so I've been reassigned as far as my flight goes, and I've got some time to kill in the Tampa airport. They have free wireless, so I'm taking advantage of it here.

On the recommendation of my sister Amy and her husband Nick, I ventured (with my parents and grandparents) to an interesting breakfast venue this morning. On the way, I saw a mailbox stand that was shaped like a Manatee, and I knew that we were headed in a good direction.

The restaurant is an amazing, cash-only breakfast place called Skyway Jack's. Located in St. Pete, FL, this place has lots of kitsch value as well as some amazing food. I had three strips of bacon and some pecan banana pancakes, and I was not disappointed. The only thing that made me uncomfortable was the big "Scrambled Eggs and Brains" special written on the marker board as well as the fact that today's special was "whatever.

We felt uncomfortable and a little over-dressed, but to be honest, I'd go back in a heartbeat. Also, I'd like to share with you one of the signs on the walls:
"If assholes could fly, this place would be an airport."

Thanks, Amy and Nick, for a great recommendation. We'll have to take you here next year!!
Zagat review: *****

Jan with Humpty

Jan with Humpty
Originally uploaded by Bigrextinct.

Here's a picture of my mom with the great Humpty Dumpty statue in front of the restaurant. Other than the bigtime obsession with eggs at this place, I'm not really sure how humpty fit into the whole pig concept...but it's still a great statue (with a great lady).

Some imaginary patrons

Some imaginary patrons
Originally uploaded by Bigrextinct.

This is a picture of the delightful window art at Skyway Jack's. There were loads of pig statues inside and lots of signs dispensing quotes with folksy wisdom. The business cards for the restaurant say "pig out." You'll notice that the pigs come in apparently pink and african american varieties!

The waitress (with the t-shirt)

The waitress (with the t-shirt)
Originally uploaded by Bigrextinct.

This is another one of the designs on the restaurant windows, depicting an imaginary pig waitress at Skyway Jack's. You'll notice the fried eggs are standing in for nipples. Well, inside the restaurant, the waitresses, many of them friendly, but tough talkin' middle-aged women, wear t-shirts exactly like the one this pig is wearing, nipples and all.

AP

Hello everyone. Sorry it's been so long, but the combination of the return from London and the long farewell to Chris meant that I didn't really have much time for crazy blogging.

So, an update...right now I'm in Daytona Beach, FL grading English Literature and Composition AP tests. We're staying at the HIlton on the beach, spending 8:30 to 4:45 each day reading the essay sections of the exams. If you've taken the exam, you'll probably know what I'm talking about. Anyway, I'm in group number 1, which is the poetry group. This means that I'm reading all essays on the two "Chimney Sweeper" poems written by William Blake.

At this point, I've graded about 400 of these essays, and I'll certainly be churning them out as the week progresses. I've gained a very strong appreciation for William Blake, though I'll honest in saying that I'm getting a little sick of the poems. Our room, however, is on the 16th floor of the hotel, and the food here is all free. There's also been a healthy amount of free beer and wine.

Tonight, I'm joining in a Tony Awards party with a notorious subset of the graders that refer to themselves as the Gay-P graders. Should be a blast!